Coachella 2013: Complete lineup comes with a Rolling Stones joke

Goldenvoice mocks those who thought the promoter teased a Rolling Stones… (Goldenvoice )

It was supposed to be a sure thing. The Rolling Stones, celebrating their 50th anniversary, were coming to the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.

The evidence was all there -- or so a bunch of amateur detectives believed. First, a purported screenshot from the Rolling Stones smartphone app listed the desert city of Indio among the band’s dates in mid-December.

When asked, any member of the Rolling Stones would plead ignorance, but then what was believed to be the smoking gun arrived. On Jan. 3, Goldenvoice posted a photo on its social networking site of a stone in a field. What do stones do? They roll. Done. Boom. Booked.

Pop & Hiss was among the publications that wrote about the photo, taking it to mean that a Rolling Stones announcement was imminent. Again, the band, whenever asked, pleaded ignorance. And then Mick Jagger began flat-out denying that the band would be at Coachella.

Shortly after unveiling the Coachella lineup Thursday night -- one that features Blur, the Stone Roses, Phoenix, the Red Hot Chili Peppers and no members of the Rolling Stones -- Goldenvoice poked a bit of fun at all those who thought the promoter was dishing out hints and clues about its lineup.

The Jan. 3 photo was, as some in this newsroom (ahem) pointed out, nothing more than a picture of a polo ball in a polo field. Coachella, after all, has taken place on the grounds of the Empire Polo Club since its 1999 inception. One hour after posting the lineup, Goldenvoice finally clarified the matter with some handy arrows.